Peace, not Pollard, is the issue
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's attempt of pulling Jonathan Pollard into the US diplomatic efforts in the peace process testifies to Israel seeking to serve its own interests rather than a peace deal with the Palestinians.
The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians proceeds according to lamentably predictable signals and signs. They provide a road map of sorts for the viewing public, setting targets against which an always elusive progress is measured.
One such constant is the call for the release of Jonathan Pollard, an American who spied on his country at Israel’s behest, and who has been imprisoned for almost three decades. Every Israeli prime minister since Yitzhak Rabin has petitioned Washington for his release. And every request has been denied.
It was recently reported that Israel’s President Shimon Peres has decided to dedicate the remaining few months of his presidency “to increase the pressure on US President Barack Obama, to convince him to release the spy.”
Peres has born this cross before. On at least one previous occasion he carried a signed petition to Obama calling for Pollard’s release, only to be rebuffed.
